Things That Make Me Smile!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

The blog assignment for the last week of my April A&I BSG challenge team is to blog about what things make me smile! I love this topic since it's so upbeat, so I decided to make it a long one with pictures…I apologize for going a bit crazy, but I could have done so many more! There’s just so much that makes me smile, and I want to go back to this blog for a reminder, when I have “one of those days” and need a smile to change my mood.

I have to start with special times with my family-
my husband, Dave and son, Sean
my sweet parents, who I am grateful to still have in my life!
my sister (this is a pic of me with my little sis and dad)
and brother-in-law and nephews

My Cairn terriers, Max and Sophie -there isn't a day that goes by that they don't do something to make me smile…from them chasing each other around to Max standing on my lap or plopping his butt right next to me on the sofa, to Sophie doing her running/spinning thing or carrying around her baby stuffed animals.
I wonder what they are looking at here!!

RVing with our friends – Dave and I enjoy our alone times, but we have been taking trips with our friends more frequently the past few years and always have such great times together!

The beauty of nature during all its seasons – I smile during peaceful nature walks surrounded by all the incredible wildlife, whether it be in the woods and mountains or by a lake, stream or ocean...or just being still to take in the sights, sounds and scents...or when I am driving on my long commute and focus on the beautiful scenery instead of the traffic –right now all the flowering trees and spring flowers in people’s yards.

Maine – one of our favorite summer vacation spots in our RV – as soon as I see the rugged sea coast and mountains, I feel lighter! This summer we are spending a whole month there!
And all the lobster dinners we eat definitely makes me happy!

Babies – there are no babies in my family right now, so I mostly get my “baby fix” on Facebook, seeing all the pics of the younger teacher’s babies! And of course, there’s always the grocery store line, when a baby is in front of you smiling at you-that’s when I find myself grinning from ear to ear!
Here are a few recent baby shots from teachers at my school…
And this YouTube video of twin babies talking to each other cracks me up! www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JmA2ClUvUY

My second graders – when I retire, I will definitely miss the daily interaction with seven and eight year olds, who love to laugh and giggle every day. I am treasuring these final days with them!
This is a picture of my class two years ago on our Field Day!

Adorable pictures – I have a board on Pinterest where I collect pictures that make me smile. There are many…mostly of babies, kids, and animals.
Please click here if you want to smile a lot!!!! pinterest.com/amybelles1/adorable/

Music and dancing – the right tune can just brighten up my mood any day, whether it’s a song on the radio in my car, music from Pandora on my i-phone as I work around the house, a playlist on i-tunes that I play at home or in my RV, or finding YouTube videos of my favorite artists. My favorite exercise to get me smiling is dancing to upbeat tunes at home!
My favorite TV shows that help me unwind at night– all are ones that put a smile on my face because of their humor, like the few I watched this week:
The Voice (love the funny interaction between the judges)
Castle (love Castle and Beckett together!)
Grey’s Anatomy – I have watched every single episode in nine seasons!

Reading a great book or poem – a sentence or line that uses great description or a story line that takes me to that place in my mind.
I also enjoy reading inspirational and funny stories and quotes…

The thought of retiring and being full-time RVers with my hubby…it’s coming up soon! The day we signed the contract for the sale of our house, I had the biggest smile! The changes in our lives will be great, and I have a lot of different emotions from apprehension, worry and sadness to leave our house with all the great memories, but also excitement for all the smiles in our future way of life traveling to beautiful places around the US!

Here are some pics of our house at different times of year – they make me smile as I think of all the years of happy memories here. (Beautiful, but I won’t miss all the work!)

What a great blog! I just loved it!! Your house is so gorgeous - you must really have some emotional stuff going on inside with that sign posted, eh? We are not getting ANY action on the house, which is so strange because last time (3 years ago) we were getting showings when the economy and housing market was crappy, so I'm really confused. Meanwhile, hurrah for you!!

You certainly have lots of things that make you smile. Many of the things that made you smile are what make me smile too! I can see why you'll miss your home but I can also see how it took so much of your time. Enjoy your time with Dave RV'ing! I'm sure you'll find many new reasons to smile!